Monthly Archives: March 2017

A lot was happening in Mlango Kubwa’s football pitch last week. Mlango Kubwa is a ward in the Mathare informal settlement in Kenya. Mathare has approximately 500,000 residence; Mango Kubwa itself has approximately 50,000 residents of which 70% of the population is 24 and under.

After its inauguration by the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, it became the centerpiece of Design Thinking workshop organized to give it a sustainable make-over.

The football pitch is the cornerstone of the community, strategically placed and accessible for all Mlango Kubwa’s residents. Used primary for football, sport and play, at times it’s also a place for talent shows, celebrations and other community events. But time, weather conditions and lack of resources have left a toll on its appearance and condition. What was once an astonishing sport facility in the midst of a slum is now rapidly deteriorating public space.

To try to help out and bring new ideas and perspectives on the issue, UN-HABITAT teamed up with GIZ Sport for Development Africa programme and Prof. Dr. Falk Uebernickel from University of St. Gallen, an expert in Design Thinking methodology, to run a 2-day workshop with the community. Ran as a pilot in a difficult context of poor urban community, the hope and expectation was to come up with new strategies to revitalize and sustainably maintain the field.

Despite slow start, the community members attending the workshop came up with some amazing ideas of how to improve the current state of the pitch. Through rather complex and at times quite challenging steps of the Design Thinking methodology, the community looked at the most pressing issues, including safety and security, drainage, waste management and communication. Here are just few examples of simple interventions that were born that day:

Adequate fence around the pitch perimeter, with some kind of roofing to protect from rains

Paid caretaker(s)

Build-in drainage

Regular clean-ups, with competitions between school

WhatsApp group to inform the community of events and happenings at/around the pitch

Funding remains a challenge and will determine the successful implementation of all the ideas that the community envisioned for the football pitch but everyone remains hopeful that over time, they will achieve everything what they set themselves for. UN-HABITAT will continue to support the Mlango Kubwa community and hope that together we can make it happen.

On 8th March 2017, at the occasion of International Women’s Day, the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres visited Mlango Kubwa community of Mathare. This special occasion occurred at the Slum Soccer football pitch, a community public space created by young women and men with the support of UN-HABITAT. Located in the heart of the community, the pitch is a perfect spot for all children and young people to play sports as well as host other community events.

Two local women’s teams were brought to greet Mr. Guterres and showcase their talents to invited guests and the residents of Mlango Kubwa. Despite the bright sun and high temperatures, the pick-up game created a great atmosphere to welcome the Secretary General in style. “Up for Slum Dwellers”, sponsored by UN-HABITAT’s slum upgrading campaign, represented UN-HABITAT at the “Global Goals World Cup” which took place the weekend before the SGs visit. Up for Slum Dwellers took on Katalands, a local team from Mathare. Together they promoted SDG 11 and advocating for more accessible and safer spaces to play sports in informal settlements.

Wendy Achieng, the captain of “Up for Slum Dwellers” team introduced both of the teams to the Secretary General and presented him with a small gift, a custom-made T-shirt promoting SDG 11. In return, Mr. Guterres honored the girls with the first kick-off of the game.

Both the Mlango Kubwa community as well as the UN family were honored and proud to see the Secretary General in the field, so early on in his term.